PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: A crowning achievement for King

Wednesday

Special teams standout Brandon King reflects on his recent safety when he tracked down Los Angeles Chargers punt returner Travis Benjamin in the end zone, saying the play was a first for him.

FOXBORO – It was a crowning achievement for a third-year member of the Patriots’ special teams.

“That was a first for me,” Brandon King said of the safety he recorded when he tackled Los Angeles Chargers punt returner Travis Benjamin in the end zone in the second quarter of his team’s 21-13 victory in its most recent game a couple of Sundays ago. “I’ve never been a part of that or experienced that before on special teams.”

The first for King was a first in 14 years for the NFL – the league’s first safety on a punt return since the New Orleans Saints recorded one on a punt at Tennessee on Sept. 21, 2003. It was the Patriots’ first special teams safety since Dec. 9, 1979, when the New York Jets fumbled a punt snap out of the end zone.

“It was just kind of a situational thing, and it was kind of crazy how it happened,” King reflected. “I felt like we just went over it that week, about different things about returners taking it back into the end zone and momentum and things like that. So as soon as it happened it was kind of like a race, you know what I mean? When you see someone do something like that, it helped contain him.”

It was a race King won, tracking Benjamin down just inside the goal line.

“I can’t say that I did everything,” said King. “‘Slate’ (Matthew Slater) was over to the left and ‘J-Jones’ (Jonathan Jones) kept him from running out to the right, so I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

The safety, which occurred when Benjamin gave up ground after recovering a 54-yard punt off the foot of Ryan Allen he’d muffed, produced a key five-point swing when Stephen Gostkowski converted a 25-yard field goal following the Chargers’ ensuing free kick.

The play earned King a game ball for his efforts.

With four tackles on special teams heading into Sunday night’s game at Denver, King is one of five players tied for third on the Patriots in that department behind Nate Ebner with seven and Brandon Bolden with five.

He’s been around: Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said that the experience Ricky Jean Francois brings to the team played a role in the decision to add him to a line that is lacking Malcom Brown.

Brown missed practice Wednesday with the ankle injury that kept him out of the Patriots’ most recent game, their 21-13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 29.

“Try to add a little depth to the defensive line,” Belichick explained. “He’s played this year (two tackles in six games with the Packers), has some experience (115 games over a nine-year NFL career that has seen him play for San Francisco, Indianapolis, Washington and Green Bay).”

Belichick said the 6-foot-3, 313-pounder could bring some versatility to the line.

“He’s been on several different teams, played different systems, played 3-4 end, he’s played inside on the guard, so we’ll see how it goes,” the coach said.

Chasing the Man in the Hat: Belichick’s next win will be his 270th with the Cleveland Browns and the Patriots, tying him with the Dallas Cowboys’ Tom Landry for third place on the league’s all-time coaching win list.

Don Shula’s 347 wins with the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins top the list followed by George Halas’ 324 with Chicago.

Aches and pains: Along with Brown, wide receiver Chris Hogan (shoulder) and offensive tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday.

Wait ’til next year: Belichick confirmed early in the day that the season was over for linebacker Shea McClellin, who appeared to be on the verge of coming off the injured reserve list this week.

The Patriots had declared McClellin as eligible to return on Oct. 18, when he participated in his first practice of the regular season, but he reportedly suffered a setback recently that ended his comeback bid.

“We won’t be activating Shea to the roster,” Belichick said.

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